This article is part of a series by The Vicksburg Post, in partnership with the Vicksburg-Warren County Chamber of Commerce, featuring each of the Educator of the Year nominees.

 

Kanisha Patterson said she became a teacher to “support students and make a difference,” and in this day and time what better way to do that than teach lessons on personal finance? That curriculum is just part of the overall business and marketing lessons she teaches at Hinds Community College’s Vicksburg Warren Career and Technical Center.

Patterson, who is in her fourth year at the center, is a finalist for the Vicksburg-Warren County Chamber of Commerce’s Educator of the Year Award.

The Chamber will select and announce one elementary and one secondary teacher of the year on Feb. 24. The winner of each award will receive $1,000 from Ameristar Casino and the runner-up for each award will receive $500 from Mutual Credit Union.

The award was originally scheduled to be announced on Feb. 17 but was delayed a week due to last week’s severe winter weather.

“Students have always enjoyed learning about budgeting and observing where their money goes versus the amount they save,” Patterson said. “Relating the unit to the money they get from an allowance or their part-time job helps them to engage and want to learn the information even more.”

Patterson earned her bachelor’s in technology education from Mississippi State in 2011. Her 10-year career in education has included time at Hinds County Career and Technical Center in Raymond, McLaurin High School in Brandon and one year at Starkville High School.

She said that in her role, where she focuses on real-world applications for the lessons she teaches, she gets joy out of hearing how students’ lives have been changed.

“Since being in the district, I have had students who have graduated come back to talk to my students and to explain that I had and still have the same expectations for them today as I had two years ago when they were in my classroom,” she said. “Teaching and learning should always be fun and engaging. If students can have fun while they are learning, then they will tend to remember and associate the information in real life.”